Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
November 3
Because of Our Need
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
John 3:17 (NCV)
Can you imagine prospective parents saying, "We'd like to adopt Johnny, but first we want to know a few things. Does he have a house to live in? Does he have money for tuition? Does he have a ride to school every morning and clothes to wear every day? Can he prepare his own meals and mend his own clothes?"
No agency would stand for such talk. Its representative would lift her hand and say, "Wait a minute. You don't understand. You don't adopt Johnny because of what he has; you adopt him because of what he needs. He needs a home."
The same is true with God. He doesn't adopt us because of what we have. He doesn't give us his name because of our wit or wallet or good attitude.... Adoption is something we receive, not something we earn.
From: The Great House of God
Copyright (Word Publishing, 1997)
Max Lucado
Joshua 2
Rahab and the Spies
1 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a prostitute [b] named Rahab and stayed there.
2 The king of Jericho was told, "Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land." 3 So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: "Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land."
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. 5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them." 6 (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) 7 So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.
8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, "I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea [c] for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. [d] 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death."
14 "Our lives for your lives!" the men assured her. "If you don't tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives us the land."
15 So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. 16 Now she had said to them, "Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way."
17 The men said to her, "This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us 18 unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. 19 If anyone goes outside your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head; we will not be responsible. As for anyone who is in the house with you, his blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on him. 20 But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear."
21 "Agreed," she replied. "Let it be as you say." So she sent them away and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
22 When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had searched all along the road and returned without finding them. 23 Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, "The LORD has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Proverbs 9
Invitations of Wisdom and of Folly
1 Wisdom has built her house;
she has hewn out its seven pillars.
2 She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.
3 She has sent out her maids, and she calls
from the highest point of the city.
4 "Let all who are simple come in here!"
she says to those who lack judgment.
5 "Come, eat my food
and drink the wine I have mixed.
6 Leave your simple ways and you will live;
walk in the way of understanding.
7 "Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult;
whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse.
8 Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you;
rebuke a wise man and he will love you.
9 Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still;
teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.
10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
11 For through me your days will be many,
and years will be added to your life.
12 If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you;
if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer."
November 3, 2009
Helped By Fear
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READ: Proverbs 9:1-12
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. —Proverbs 9:10
Fear means different things to different people. To professional golfer Padraig Harrington, it is a motivator to help him perform his very best. In 2008, when he won both the British Open and the PGA Championship, Harrington said, “Yes, fear is a big part of me. I’d like to say that I have all the trust and patience and I’m relaxed. No, that’s not my makeup. [Fear] pushes me on. Keeps me getting to the gym. I have to work with it and use it.”
Maybe it’s the fear of failure, or the fear of losing his edge, but Harrington finds fear to be a useful thing in his professional life.
The follower of Christ can also be helped by fear. We are challenged in the Scriptures to a reverential fear of God, which is the best type of fear that there is. It causes us to be concerned about disobeying Him or living in opposition to His ways. It’s being in awe of our great God, bowing to His perfect will, and seeking His wisdom for living. To that end, the proverb declares, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov. 9:10).
By fearing God rightly, we can live wisely in an uncertain world. — Bill Crowder
God dwells in light and holiness,
In splendor and in might;
And godly fear of His great power
Can help us do what’s right. —D. De Haan
Fear God, and you’ll have nothing else to fear.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
November 3, 2009
A Bondservant of Jesus
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READ:
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me . . . —Galatians 2:20
These words mean the breaking and collapse of my independence brought about by my own hands, and the surrendering of my life to the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. No one can do this for me, I must do it myself. God may bring me up to this point three hundred and sixty-five times a year, but He cannot push me through it. It means breaking the hard outer layer of my individual independence from God, and the liberating of myself and my nature into oneness with Him; not following my own ideas, but choosing absolute loyalty to Jesus. Once I am at that point, there is no possibility of misunderstanding. Very few of us know anything about loyalty to Christ or understand what He meant when He said, ". . . for My sake" ( Matthew 5:11 ). That is what makes a strong saint.
Has that breaking of my independence come? All the rest is religious fraud. The one point to decide is— will I give up? Will I surrender to Jesus Christ, placing no conditions whatsoever as to how the brokenness will come? I must be broken from my own understanding of myself. When I reach that point, immediately the reality of the supernatural identification with Jesus Christ takes place. And the witness of the Spirit of God is unmistakable— "I have been crucified with Christ . . . ."
The passion of Christianity comes from deliberately signing away my own rights and becoming a bondservant of Jesus Christ. Until I do that, I will not begin to be a saint.
One student a year who hears God’s call would be sufficient for God to have called the Bible Training College into existence. This college has no value as an organization, not even academically. Its sole value for existence is for God to help Himself to lives. Will we allow Him to help Himself to us, or are we more concerned with our own ideas of what we are going to be?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Shaking the Snake That Stalks You - #5952
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
The more I've learned about eagles, the more amazing I find them to be. They mate for life, they build nests that will last a lifetime, and they ride the storm instead of hiding from the storm. There's really only one enemy that is a serious danger to the eagle - a snake. That snake will attempt to climb wherever the eagle nest is and attack the inhabitants, especially the little eagles. But pity the poor snake that gets caught by Mama or Papa Eagle. They will show the serpent no mercy! They may pick it up with their beak and violently shake it to death. Or, better yet, they will pick it up in their talons, take off high into the air, and drop that snake to its death on the rocks below. They are not about to let that serpent have what he came for.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Shaking the Snake That Stalks You."
It's no wonder the Bible encourages us to take note of "the way of an eagle" (Proverbs 30:19). The eagle shows the serpent no mercy and makes that serpent sorry he's ever attacked you. Like that eagle, we have a serpent that's trying to strike out at us. The devil's first appearance to humans came in the form of a snake in the Garden of Eden. In the last book of the Bible, God still calls him "that ancient serpent called the devil" (Revelation 11:9).
You may or not believe in the devil, but either way he's actively trying to ruin your life. In fact, he likes it better when you don't believe in him. You won't fight an enemy you don't even know is there. But those who anchor their life to the Word of God have no excuse for being blind to what the evil prince is up to. 1 Peter 5:8 describes him as "a roaring lion" who "prowls around...looking for someone to devour." Then it tells us what to do with him, "Resist him!"
Unfortunately, we're not always as smart as the eagles. If that old serpent pushes the right buttons - the same old buttons he's always pushed to bring you down - we actually go along with him! So much of our hurt, and heartache; the shame of your life and mine is because we've given into his subtle promptings and to his sinful opportunities. But if you belong to Jesus Christ, you belong to the One the Bible says came "to destroy the devil's work" (1 John 3:8).
So show him no mercy when he comes crawling toward you; when he comes crawling toward your nest. In the words of Ephesians 6:13, "Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." Remember, Satan has no power over you except what you let him have! And every temptation the devil brings into your life is to do one of three things. Jesus said that, "The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy" (John 10:10). Why in the world would you go along with any of those?
The next time the serpent comes your way, the Bible says, "Resist him." "I know who this is. I'm not falling for this again!" That's how you stand up to him. You claim the victory that Jesus Christ won over Satan when He died on the cross. Take your stand! Go to your Savior and unleash Jesus on that serpent. No compromise. No giving in. No accommodation.
Like the eagle, make that old serpent sorry that he ever got close to your nest!
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